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Just 11 days ago, West Brom manager Sam Allardyce said he viewed Arsenal as a relegation rival.
But after a week that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described as “crucial”, his team is now 12 points above the relegation zone and could start to look like a European contender once again.
When Allardyce took over at West Brom, the Gunners were in 15th place, four points behind the bottom three with a win in 10 Premier League games.
Now, after successive victories against Chelsea, Brighton and West Brom, they are six points behind the top four and 11th in the table.
“Everything looks so much better,” Arteta said after Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Baggies, while former defender Martin Keown asked, “Why can’t you start looking at Europe again?”
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Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright said the current team “lacked confidence” during their losing streak, and Arteta urged his team to play fearlessly against West Brom.
He was rewarded when forward Alexandre Lacazette scored in his third straight league appearance – he hadn’t scored in the previous eight – Bukayo Saka, 19, was back on the roster, Emile Smith Rowe, 20, was impressive and “fantastic. “Kieran Tierney also collected a goal and an assist.
“They had to keep believing in themselves, but at the same time the coach took a lot of responsibility for himself in the way they played. They played with a lack of confidence. The victories are going to change that completely,” Wright told the BBC. Game of the day.
“Younger players are coming in who are playing without fear.”
Arteta’s own verdict was also optimistic: “This is as close to what we want. This is an Arsenal team with the idea I want. There were certain moments when we were very close to that. The players had the brake of hand and you can see that they are free to play.
“There were times when we were very good, both defensively and offensively. This is exactly what we want the players to do. The energy and momentum are much more positive.
“It is always difficult to win away from home and we have done it in a really convincing way. It’s three in a row and we had talked about the importance of this week.”
And Keown agrees with Wright that the influx of young people into the team has elevated Arsenal.
“Now with the arrival of children, there is a real core with which they can look to the future,” he told BT Sport. “I like the way they have reacted. There has been a lot of character and a lot of passion. The youngsters are leading the way for Arsenal.”
‘The size of this task is enormous’: West Brom’s struggles West Brom has lost all three games at home to Sam Allardyce
In contrast, it has been a week to forget for Allardyce and West Brom.
His famous 1-1 draw with champions Liverpool at Anfield has been quickly forgotten after a 5-0 thrashing by Leeds and a 4-0 loss to Arsenal.
West Brom have now suffered three losses at home under Allardyce, conceding 12 goals and scoring none in the process, and are still second from the bottom, six points from safety.
“Handsome [Allardyce] he wishes he stood by the fire in his slippers instead of going back to management, “Keown said on BT Sport.
“He was very different from one of Sam Allardyce’s team members. It’s mostly school mistakes and there’s a lot to fix. There’s still time for him to fix it, but I didn’t see any signs of that here.”
Former West Brom midfielder Gareth Barry added: “In his [Allardyce’s] Heart of hearts, he knows the size of this task is enormous. “
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Source: bbc.com
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